It Takes Work
by mortal-marauders
Summary: A little rain won't hurt anybody :) (sasusaku oneshot(s))
1. Chapter 1

_a/n: i just really wanted to write something. sorry if it seems similar/cliche. or if you don't like sakusaske. Timeframe set after sasuke came home and right in the beginning of the relationship_

"rain"

Medics in the shinobi world did not just "take breaks" from their jobs. Unless, of course, they had a silent and brooding Uchiha boyfriend that got just a little too overprotective the last time their partner tried to stumble home in a tired daze and ended up passed out on a hill halfway home. Then, some superiors in the hospital might just be a little, *ahem* "convinced," that one of their medics could use an early release on a Friday and a weekend off.

So, that was how one Sakura Haruno ended up locking up her office on a Friday afternoon with a very dark and handsome figure shadowing her.

"You know, Sasuke, I can handle locking up my office," Sakura said, huffing with a small breath of annoyance.

"Yes," Sasuke muttered, reaching out to help her take off the white doctors coat, "That's not what I'm worried about."

"What," she joked, "You were worried that the local interns here weren't terrified enough?" She motioned towards the workers behind the desks that seemed to shrink back in the Uchiha's somber presence.

"Hn." he snorted, obviously not very amused at this, in his opinion, quite dire circumstance.

You see, Uchiha Sasuke is actually a very big softie at heart. Where his dark aura may terrify hundreds on a battlefield, he actually is a very caring man. A lot of things have gone wrong in his life, so he turned out to be a very analytical guy. Every object in the village seems to be analyzed if it poses a potential threat to Sakura, and if deemed a threat, it is eliminated. Like how her too-hot tea was poured down the drain on Monday morning (and then re-made), a blanket was added to her sleeping form on Wednesday night; and, the most offensive crime this week, how his Thursday night was spent scouring Konohagakure for her exhausted form that couldn't quite make it home after a long day of work.

The two walked down the hospital halls, Sakura whistling and waving goodbye to people for the weekend as Sasuke walked behind her. They were quite an odd couple in the village, but they suited each other well. When one was sad, the other brought light. When one was too careless, the other picked up the slack. No villager could doubt the dynamic of the two.

Sasuke was walking Sakura home, and she was cheerily telling him all about her day and the people she encountered. Two minutes into this journey, the darkened clouds started to pour rain down upon the two.

It wasn't just a few droplets here or there, it was sheets of water streaming through the streets. Sasuke's obsidian eyes narrowed, as the offensive nature interrupted Sakura's story and his peaceful journey. The water could give the two of them a cold.

"You up for running back to my place?"He asked Sakura. "It's closer, and this rain doesn't look like it's about to stop soon."

Sakura's green eyes twinkled mischievously. She went on his tiptoes, and her warm breath tickled Sasuke's ear. "Race you there." She whispered, before bolting down the street.

Sasuke stood surprised for one second, before what she said hit him. "Shit!" He swore under his breath, taking off after her in a race for his pride.

* * *

By the time the two of them reached Sasuke's apartment, both of them were soaking wet and laughing. The race home had been unfair; involving pulling, name-calling, and being dragged down onto the ground and into the puddles.

"So much for running to save ourselves from getting wet." Sakura laughed, wringing her hair out in his foyer.

She turned to face him, then erupted into a new fit of giggles at the sight of the Uchiha's luscious and fluffy hair wet down to his face. "Here," she chuckled, stepping close to him to run her fingers through his hair to dry it off. "You goof." She teased.

Sasuke scoffed, but smiled at her proximity and happiness. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her lithe frame. Sakura had a knack for making any moment special, and he would have been content to stay there for hours, hugging her as her fingers ran across his scalp. He might've, too, if he hadn't noticed the small shivers running across her frame.

Sasuke pulled back, frowning. "Let's get you into some dry clothes." He suggested.

"It's alright," she shivered, "I don't have anything here."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura was a silly girl if she thought that he would let her freeze because of that. "I have plenty of clothes." He muttered, and gave her a pointed look to follow him as he started to head upstairs.

He lead her into his room, and showed her the closet so that she could pick out whatever she wanted to wear. "I'll be right in the hall," he said, stepping out to give her space and grabbing his own set of dry clothes.

Five minutes later Sakura emerged, wearing one of his shirts with his family crest on the back. It dwarfed her frame, reaching a dress length.

"How do I look?" Sakura asked, giving a mock-twirl.

"Hn." He mumbled, looking away. If Uchiha's weren't such cool cucumbers, he would've been blushing. Sasuke didn't say it to her, but he felt a swell of happiness seeing her in Uchiha colors. And she looked damn good in that t-shirt, with her creamy white thighs peeking out and the over-sized shirt lending a comfy look to her aesthetic.

He grabbed her hand, leading her back down the stairs to the living room with blankets in hand. They hesitated by the couch, the awkward pause of considering potential seating arrangement options during a new relationship hanging in the air.

"Oh, come on," Sakura said, grabbing his hand and pushing him down on the couch. "I for one, am cold."

She plopped down, cuddling against his side. "Is this okay?" She asked, searching his face for discomfort.

He paused for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling them both so they could lay down on the couch and she was in front of him. "Better?" He asked.

"Better." She affirmed, nuzzling her head into his arm.

To an outsider, the situation might have looked pretty boring. It was just a couple cuddling and watching TV while a thunderstorm raged on outside.

However to the two of them, this little moment was everything. They were so fully comfortable with each other that the silence was peaceful, and the later the night drew, the more entangled their limbs became. For those hours, the world was simply Sakura and Sasuke; warmth from each others bodies, small readjustments, and the feeling of the others breathing and heartbeat. Each breath was enough; enough to show that they were alive and well and happy together, even after everything that has happened in their life.

It was the best night of sleep Sasuke had received since before his parents had died.

* * *

 **an: I originally had this under a different story, but different ships for different folks. So I'll try to separate my Naruto ships now so nobody has to see something they don't want to! Hahahaha i'm Naruto trash :) Might be updated with more sasusaku oneshots later!**


	2. Chapter 2

Punches

* * *

Sakura Haruno sighed deeply, massaging her temples with her hands. Today had not been the best day at the hospital. She had to double up on shifts, and 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours did not lend well to her ability to handle jackasses. All she needed was a cup of tea, a warm bath, and a very, very long hibernation-like sleep.

But judging by the sound of her door opening, her plans would have to be altered a bit.

"Sakura?" Sasuke cautiously called, after not spotting his girlfriends shock of pink hair in the foyer.

She groaned a little at the loud noise. "Here." She mumbled into the table.

Sasuke softly padded over, taking in her appearance. Her body was hunched over the kitchen table, and she was wearing a very old shirt of his. Judging by how she was holding her head, she must have a massive migraine. Combined with the herbal tea, all the signs pointed to chakra exhaustion and sleep deprivation; a sign Sasuke would have to have another nice chat with the hospital.

He approached Sakura, gently massaging her back.

She quietly moaned as the tension started to become worked out of her body. His hands were _definitely_ not supposed to be doing that. She had been quite content to sit in her wallowing state for a bit.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It's flu season, so too many of our nurses didn't show. I ended up pulling a double shift, and had to deal with a few assholes. Don't worry about it." Sakura said.

Sasuke frowned. Of course he was going to worry about it. "What did they do?"

"I just..." Sakura paused, taking in a deep breath, preparing for a tirade. She turned to face him. "Who the fuck decided that yelling at a medical ninja could change the future? It's not like we'll preform better if you're mean to us. Let us do our job, and sit down." She started to emphatically move her hands. "Plus, I had a patient who was trying to convince me that shots caused autism! That was one study, done by _Orichimaru_ of all discreditable people, that he later revoked. It does nothing of the sort! If unvaccinated, your kid is simply more prone to danger; along with the possibility of eradicating these viruses becoming impossible! Plus, I get all of these lecherous old men that think my uniform is an invitation to stare at my ass! I _know_ my ass looks good! It's. Not. Your. Place. To. Hit. On. Me! It's not flattering, and quite honestly, extremely creepy!" With the last word, Sakura felt her hand connect with Sasukes nose with a resounding crack.

She gaped, he blinked.

Blood was trickling down from his nose to his upper lip, and she presumed he had a fracture to his nasal bone.

"OhMyGodSasukeImSoSorry!" She squeaked, quickly putting her hands over his nose to heal the damage.

He allowed her to set the bone back, but grabbed her hands once she transitioned to healing the bruises.  
"No," he muttered, "don't waste your chakra."

She glared at him. "Sasuke! This is my fault! I should fix it."

"I don't want you to." He said, "I don't blame you." He enveloped her tiny frame in a hug, and was disturbed to note she was shaking from depletion and stress. "Come on," he muttered into her ear. "Time for bed."

She leaned back to stare at his face; assessing the damage and reading his serious mood. "Fine." Sakura muttered, before getting an evil look on her face. "My terms, though."

Sasuke gave her a weary look, before nodding.

Sakura stepped around to be behind Sasuke, before promptly sweeping him up bridal style.

Now, Sasuke didn't make fragile noises like "squeaks" or "squeals." However, a slightly higher noise was most definitely (quietly) omitted from his mouth as his girlfriend swooped him up. "Sakura. What. The. Hell." He asked.

She batted her eyelashes at him innocently. "Sasuke, you _are_ hurt. And remember, I'm the medic here; I always know what's best for your health."

Sasuke tried to stare her down for thirty seconds, before giving up with a (slightly dramatic) sigh.

Sensing victory, she carried him to her bedroom (perhaps drawing out the walk by a _little_ bit). She set him on the bed, where she promptly flopped down next to him.

"You're staying here, right?" She asked, giving him her best puppy eyes.

Really, he never had a chance.

Sasuke sighed, thinking about her chakra depletion. "You're going to sleep, though."

She nodded, before folding herself around him. Sasuke was not as talkative as some, but his very presence was always able to soothe her like nothing else. And really, what could be better than cuddling up to somebody you love?

After a few minutes, Sakura spoke. "Thank you Sasuke. And I'm sorry for hitting you..."

He looked down at her, before lightly kissing her forehead. His silly pink-haired girlfriend had nothing to say sorry for considering all that she had saved him from. He would gladly let her break his nose everyday.

"No problem. But... Some of the neighbors might think you're abusive..." He pensively added.

She gasped, before embarrassedly burying her head against his chest.

Yes, the great Sasuke Uchiha could get pretty used to this.

* * *

 _ **A/N: thank you all for the support :):) it's a bit similar, but I was pretty interested in the idea of Sakura carrying a "hurt" Sasuke. I could see her trying to do it even if he has a simple cold or something too**_


	3. Chapter 3

Ch something

All I want

* * *

Ino lightly hip checked Sakura.  
"Oh, come on Sakura!" She whined. "Trust me on this one, Kiba went crazy last year!"  
Sakura dubiously eyed the lingerie the blonde was offering her.  
"Look, I'm all for dressing up, but I could never see gift wrapping and a bow entering my love life. Especially considering Sasuke." She said, wrinkling her nose at the thought of lounging by the fire "wrapped up" for Sasuke. She couldn't even begin to fathom how he would respond.  
"Your loss," Ino shrugged, throwing the contraption onto her own pile.  
"I wouldn't be opposed to something else, though..." Sakura trailed off, knowing that to be a dangerous opener for her friend.  
A dangerous glint entered Ino's eyes. "Honey, you're going to look so good that you won't be leaving your house for the next few days after he sees you on Christmas."

* * *

Christmas Eve was going fantastically. According to the passing traveler that they had heard of the holiday from, most westerners cooked up a huge feast, but Sakura and Sasuke had opted for buying takeout and eating by candlelight in the kitchen.

The whole night had seemed warm and fuzzy to Sakura as she had eaten, laughed, and joked with her avenger. Kami, would her younger self had just swooned to see the progress the pair had made.

Now, they looked like a picture perfect couple. Happy, close, and most importantly, in love.

After the horrible things she had seen and done through her life, Sakura wasn't sure if she deserved a relationship this perfect. But she supposed, some would say the same of Sasuke.

Which, of course, she would deck them for suggesting. Sasuke had enough regret and brooding to fill a nation, and she was one of the few people he trusted to open up completely around.

But she was working on that.

Looking into his eyes, she knew he thought she was stooping down by being with him. But the funny thing was, she felt the same way about him doing for her.

After cleaning up the dishes together, Sakura excused herself. "I have to go, uh, change before presents. Okay?" She asked, brushing her fingers across his face.

He tapped her forehead with his suds-covered fingers. "Of course," he nodded.

* * *

Standing in front of her mirror, her warm feelings were replaced by apprehension. She wondered how Sasuke would react to the lacy pieces Ino had picked out, or if he would say anything. He was a very quiet guy, after all.

She sighed, gathering her courage. If she could preform a dangerous operation on a four-year old child, she could walk out with the lace under her normal clothes. He might not even see them!

She threw her sweats and shirt back on, before dispersing her nerves and turning the door handle. She walked down the hallway, "Sasuke?" She called. "Where are you?"

"In here." She heard his low reply from the living room. It almost sounded like her avenger was... nervous?

Sakura slowly rounded the corner, cursing how her new lingerie had made her ditch the kunai holster normally strapped to her leg.

Only to stop moving completely once she rounded the corner as her jaw dropped to the floor.

There lounged Sasuke in the chair by the fireplace, a light blush dusting his cheeks...

Wearing nothing but strategically placed ribbons and wrapping paper, complete with an "unwrap me" tag on his (quite muscular) chest.

"Have you been naughty, or nice?" Sasuke forced out, embarrassed while reciting his (pre-planned?) line.

Sakura wasn't sure if she should jump him on the spot or take a picture.

Her boyfriend was just too damned cute for his own good.

Sakura went beet red. "Kai" she tried, making the hand signs to dispel a genjutsu.

Nope. Not an illusion.

Sasuke seemed to grow even redder.

Sakura walked over as if in a trance, running a finger down his chest. She stepped back suddenly, remembering something.

"I, uh, got you something too." She shyly muttered, before guiding his hands to lift up her shirt. His throat went dry at her candy-cane striped lacy bra, feeling the temperature in the room skyrocket. She guided him to her sweats next, shivering as his fingers lightly gilded on her contours.

Goosebumps prickled her skin as he lightly grabbed her waist with his warm hands to spin her.

He made a strange sound like he was being strangled when he saw that her underwear said "All I want" right across the butt.

When she turned back around to face him, she noticed just how tight that wrapping paper could be.

And, as everybody knows, Uchihas are quite determined once they have a goal in mind

* * *

The next time Sakura saw Ino, the blonde was standing by Kiba. He instantly groaned, reaching in his pocket and handing Ino what suspiciously looked like money.

"Why do you always have to be right?" He whined.

"You should really know not to bet against me by now." She smirked. "Besides, you'll like paying up on the second half of your gamble." She winked.

Sakura ignored their innuendo. "What, exactly, did you guys bet on?" She questioned.

"I said you would be back out later the next day." Kiba said, eyeing her in a new light considering the passed time.

"And I said you wouldn't appear back in public for at least three days." Ino proudly smirked.

Sakura went red, face palming herself. "You'd better run." She growled at both of them.

* * *

a/n: haha have some innuendo for your December 25th :) I love kibaino lol who needs cannon


	4. Chapter 4

"don"t do that you're turning me on"

* * *

The red light started flashing, and the insufferable buzz almost made Sasuke jump.

Almost. Because, even with everything else going wrong, Sasuke was still a ninja, goddammit.

Sakura's laughter cut through his irritation, and he tried to give her his avenger glare out of the corner of his eye. The game Operation was obviously no fun at all, and he didn't understand why it was sold to kids.

Sakura, on the other hand, was having a grand old time.

"Aw," she cooed, noticing his irritation. "It's okay Sasuke, I _am_ a world renown medic." As it turned out, her boyfriend just _could not_ handle losing. This was their 3rd match, with each one almost taking twenty minutes.

She grabbed the last cheese slice from the snack platter, eying her sulking boyfriend. She could practically see the cloud of doom and gloom hanging around Sasuke's head as he wracked his brain for how he had failed the last game.

Operation, apparently, was not to be taken lightly.

Sakura stood up, stretching out her arms. She bent over, boping Sasuke on the nose. "Cheer up, it's just a game." She tried. "I'm going to go get us some more snacks.

She padded over to the kitchen in their apartment, humming under her breath. Who knew it just took a child's game to take down the fearsome remaining Uchiha?

She chuckled as she grabbed more berries from the fridge, and a knife. She started slicing, smiling at the day.

A few minutes later, she was startled by Sasuke's voice directly in her ear. "Sakura," he exasperatedly whispered. "How?"

Sakura startled. Sasuke had always had a penchant for the dramatic, she blamed it on influence from the rat-bastard Orochimaru. And one could only go through so many of Naruto's dramatic friendship speeches before becoming a little theatrical.

She nervously sidestepped a little, and he backed off to the counter behind her, folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know what to say," she started, "I mean, I trained under Tsundere for years. I'm not really even thinking about it, it's just second nature at this point."

If anything, Sasuke became even more gloomy. His girlfriend wasn't even having to think to beat him.

Sakura nervously chuckled at the darkening of his eyes. She decided to just ignore it, going back to cutting. She started thinking about the rest of her day, and the appointment she had with Ino in an hour. She could probably only indulge her boyfriend in one more game before walking over to the other side of town...

She eventually felt his eyes watching her work as he recovered from his "Uchiha failure" doom and gloom. After a bit, he let out a noise of frustration. "Sakura." He said, in a tone that would have been described as whining for any other person.

She turned her head, licking the side of the knife. The strawberries were especially sweet at this time of year. "Yeah?" She innocently asked.

"Don't do… that." He mumbled, before grumbling under his breath "you're turning me on."

She gave him a blank look. What was she doing?

"I'm just _trying_ to be angry and sulk for a bit, but nooo." He complained, throwing his hand up in the air.

An evil grin spread across her face as she made the connection with her winning the game. And then the knives she was using.

Interesting. So the great and powerful Sasuke had a thing for dominating women.

"What," she drawled, twirling the knife. "This old thing?"

Sasuke made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

"Is this bothering you?" She asked in a faux concerned voice, running the knife down her finger. Blood welled up, and she wiped it off on her bottom lip.

Sasuke watched her with a mesmerized expression. "We're playing like that, now?" He exasperatedly asked. He started mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like an apology to Fugaku for what was going to happen next and not being a Uchiha gentleman.

(Which, Sakura raised a brow at. Since when were the Uchihas _nice_?)

"Fine!" Sasuke huffed, before turning the brunt of his gaze of her. In one blink, his hands caged her in, holding onto the counter right by her hips. "I'll play." He whispered, hot air fanning across her neck.

His mouth was on hers in an instant, sending a shiver up her body. She relaxed into his arms, raking her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck.

Now _this_ , this was the Sasuke she loved. His palms skimmed across her thighs, before circling to pull her to sit on the counter. She hooked her heels around his waist, pulling him in closer.

She broke off from his mouth, kissing along his jawline until she reached his ear. Sakura smirked at the tension in his shoulder blades, before playfully biting his earlobe and leaning in close.

"BBBZZZTTT!" She yelled into his ear, imitating the sound from the game Operation.

Sasuke jumped, pulling back instantly and hitting the countertop behind him with a loud thud.

He cursed, rubbing his butt where a bruise was most likely already forming. "Not. Funny." He hissed, shooting the _I'm-about-to-kill-a-thousand-enemies-on-the-battlefield_ glare.

However, his girlfriend wasn't affected. She was otherwise occupied, bent over in full body laughter.

(Her silly little Uchiha)


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This is a post-war story when Kakashi was Hokage and Sasuke left again. I'm actually really disappointed at Sakura's very minor role and the general choices of Sasuke at the end of the war, so I guess this is my attempt to show the Sakura that I believe in? So, not a cheesy fluffy chapter. But imperative for what needs to happen for Sakura and Sasuke to healthily work.**

* * *

Sakura subconsciously stroked her pointer finger, pouring in a bit of healing chakra with each stroke despite already mending the bone after breaking the appendage during her training session. As a medic, there was incredible value to the health and complete effectiveness of her hands, so her common nervous tic had actually developed into a helpful maintenance tactic.

She was nervous due to the implications of the jutsu that she was just practicing. By combining her combative and medical knowledge, Sakura had started to realize her unique ability to create a cellular dismantling jutsu. The jutsu she had been working to develop was able to completely destroy a tree she attacked (which, granted, was not out of the norm for the pink haired ninja nor her blonde teacher), but to the disturbing extent that her precise chakra control severed the very connections and cellular junctions from tree cell to tree cell. When she merely touched the tree, it completely splintered and fell apart in pieces smaller than her human eye could see. If further developed, and used on a person, the jutsu could destroy a given target area beyond possible for a medic to unscramble or reconstruct. If perfected, it would minimize extraneous damage to innocent people and environments, as often unintentionally occurred with large jutsus. However, it also starts to head down the path towards enabling cellular and biological warfare, and Sakura wasn't sure if she was ready to lead that trail.

Sakura sighed, rubbing her aching head. Each small choice in the present seemed to lead to unimaginable consequences in the future.

She almost wished she could be like Naruto, where, bless his heart, he didn't even stop to think about the political repercussions about what his latest jutsu to "look awesome and beat people up" did.

Sakura supposed that's why she thinks of this stuff, it seems as though it's her life to stay 50 steps ahead and try to protect her boys. Or, perhaps she should just say /boy/, as you can't easily help somebody who keeps on running away from you.

But fuck easy. She loves both her boys, and this is her ninja way.

"SAKUURRRAAAA!" Naruto shouted out, running up to her on the path. It's like that boy has a magical way of appearing on queue, right when Sakura thinks about things a little too much and needs him. "SAKURA!" He repeated, catching up to her and skidding to a stop, breathing heavily. "Teme's back! He's in town shortly to report on that missing-nin to Kakashi! Come get ramen with us to celebrate?" She sees the gleam in his blue eyes, the omnipresent friendly sparkle, and Sakura knows she can never really say no to this boy. Especially considering how meetings of the original Team 7 only seemed to occur once every few months now that Sasuke was on his "journey of sins."

Not that she would resist food with how starving she is after training, though.

"Of course" She finally smiles at Naruto , heavy troubles becoming less of a burden as she remembers the support of her friends.

* * *

Jade green eyes contentedly watched over the boys as they argued at Ichiraku's; Sasuke, making some self-assured demands (where Sasuke had been learning more about compassion, and people, and how the world works during his travels- he most certainly wasn't learning about manners or how to speak to somebody without a stick up his ass yet. Who knew, he could help defeat the progenitor of Chakra; but harnessing his words still escaped him); and Naruto, simply provoking him with silly taunts.

She had known better than to get a large welcome from Sasuke when she first saw him again (reality: a head nod and a "hnnnn"), but that wasn't what she depended her happiness on anyway. Her happiness comes from here; where she's sitting in a comfortable chair with warm food watching her boys fists never colliding in blows, only maybe accidentally brushing knuckles as their chopsticks raise ramen to hungry lips.

Three hungry souls. Hungry for love, hungry for life; for answers, for fulfillment, for chasing "normality" post saving the whole fucking world.

This normality for now was lined with the (perhaps excessive) sake with their meals, leading to Naruto yelling and interrupting her reverie.

"Teme! It doesn't make sense! How can you travel so lightly, with no luggage? Where do you keep all your stuff? Don't you ever at least change your underwear?"

Sakura slowly nodded. "Naruto's… surprisingly right. With hair as…" She leaned over, falling into Sasuke a /bit/ more than intended in her tipsy state, softly twirling her fingers in his raven locks "soft and voluptuous as this, you MUST shampoo and condition religiously."

Sasuke would claim the blush on his cheeks was due to the alcohol, and Sakura would try to convince herself that too in order to protect herself. Like how they always work.

"You know what!" Naruto schemed, "I bet that's why the dobe wears the purple skirt! He must keep all his personal hygiene products under there and then he's gotta tie up the weight with that rope belt!"

"Dobe," Sasuke sighed, "Why are you thinking about what's under my clothes so much?"

"Ah!" Naruto hiccuped, "Well I don't see how you're getting many people to 'get under your clothes' during your travels if you don't even bathe every day!"

Sakura froze, pretending not to notice Sasuke's glance at her that seemed to be both an assurance that his clothes were only removed by him, and a more distant and hesitant longing. A subtle, /almost/ suggestion, that maybe he wanted her to be that girl one day. Like how they always work. Subtleties only.

"You know, guys. Guys. Get this: toothpaste! Why is that?" Naruto indignantly questioned, like the one innocuous word had unimaginable audacity. "Why the hell is it not called teethpaste? That stuff is for a lot of teeth, it protects like... a village of teeth at one time! Not just one tooth each application!"

Sakura's bell-like giggles rung out in response to her wasted, lovely best friend, and Sasuke merely sluggishly shook his head.

Her happiness could eternally be fueled off of the small bliss of snowglobe-moments like this.

* * *

The brisk autumn air sobered up the trio on their more somber walk away from Ichiraku's.

Naruto's path diverged first, the sorrow of his goodbye to his best friend channeled through a firm handshake. "Don't let some gennin beat you up." He pretended to joke, eyes channeling a more serious concern and care for Sasuke before turning away, not making eye contact for who-even-knows how long again.

Sakura was in an unspoken agreement with Sasuke to walk him to the gate despite everything, for some crazy reason wanting to stay with her broken boy just a bit longer.

He drove her crazy. Crazy with guilt over trying to kill him. Crazy with concern over what the practically-mute boy was even thinking anymore. Crazy that she cared about somebody who always just ran away, and never said anything.

Always, always taking. Never giving.

But, if nothing else, Sakura was the epitome of selflessness and kindness. So, she kept on giving. Talking through the tense air the whole walk to the gates, despite her heart breaking with each unresponded word.

She gave him her habits, her life as it is now; speaking of hospital patients, quick dinner plans for what she does when she gets home at 2 AM from the hospital and just wants sleep as soon as possible, training routines, and an update on the number of homeless cats that now meander by her apartment for the dishes of food and milk.

Their steps slowed as they started to get closer to the gates, and the encroaching reality of solitude seemed to start to prompt responses from Sasuke. A few blocks away, and a seeming soliloquy by Sakura suddenly turned into a monologue, to a conversation.

The magic abruptly crashed down as they reached the gate. The dead silence was interrupted awkwardly, haltingly by Sasuke declaring. "Sakura. You're coming with me this time."

Sakura chuckled lowly at this new revision to the scene, eyes glinting sharply from years of repressed emotions set free by his clumsy request after the other two times of inadequacy. "No, Sasuke. You don't get to do that now. Decide, now, that I'm good enough to travel behind you. That maybe I can do more than simply call out your name despairingly in the back of a battle scene, after all," she acerbically mocked.

Disappointment hung thick in the air like fog.

She took a deep breath, calming down. "I mean. After all these years, I can't anymore, Sasuke. I have become the strong person I wanted to be, the village depends on me. They need me here."

Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking, /I/ need you too.

Sakura nervously twisted her shoe into the sand, looking down sadly. Trying to show: the other two times, I would've done anything for you to even ask. I still /might/ want to go to the ends of the world for you

Sasuke finally spoke first. "I don't know how long I'll be gone." Trying to convey what he meant: I'm going to miss you. Each time I leave it builds more and more.

Only a symphony of cicadas echoed in response as Sakura gathered her thoughts. She sighed. "Look, Sasuke. On these trips of solitude: you can't just be running away from something. You have to be running to something. You will always be gone, be on the move, if you're looking to have all the answers and yourself figured out before you come back to the Leaf." She chuckled darkly, "Hell, you would probably never come home. I promise you Naruto and I don't have all the answers to who we are, why we're here, and what we can do to help. In that regard, I can't offer you anything tangible. All I can give you is our support. If you stay, I promise that we're all working together here to try to figure these things out." She took a shaky breath, "Look, I don't know how many different times and ways I can keep on asking you to stay anymore. I don't know if I can keep on doing this."

Sasuke only stared at her in response. She rubbed her temples, waiting for a breath longer.

With still no response she quickly gave him a light hug and breathed in his scent one last time, the entire process so quick he almost could have imagined it, before she pivoted around to walk away and hide her teary eyes. "Goodbye… Sasuke." She called.

One step.

Two steps.

Strong arms encircled her waist as Sasuke gave her a real hug from behind. A voice whispered in her ear,

"I guess I could stay for another day."

* * *

 **A/N: lol "another day" suuurrreee Sasuke it'll "only be a day"**


	6. Chapter 6

_Vindictive_

 ** _AN- I'm sorry, this chapter is kinda crack lol_**

* * *

Sometimes the fact that Sakura was always automatically THEIR medic was, in the wide dictionary of Sasuke Uchiha, annoying. Especially now, as Naruto and Sasuke had to check into the hospital for a simple post-mission check.

Sure, the pink hair woman was the best medic in the land of fire, perhaps even the world. Her chakra control was flawless, memory impeccable, she has unparalleled improvisational thinking, and -perhaps most important to the casual patient- usually had phenomenal bedside manner.

Usually.

Exceptions were made when she was royally pissed.

Sakura's usual cheerful smile and empathetic comments were most certainly absent as her cold, calculating stare sadistically rested on Naruto and Sasuke.

"Remind me, again. Who on this team can precisely locate major arteries, and sever them with no obvious external signs of death?"

"You are, Sakura." They dejectedly responded.

"Who on this team, is arguably the most attractive to the male clientele and could've easily charmed her way into the compound?"

"Well, some people do call Mr. Dark-and-handsome 'Sasu-gay'…" Naruto muttered, receiving a glare from the Uchiha, then, a much scarier glare from Sakura.

"I'm hot as hell, Naruto" Sakura flatly responded.

"WHO, on this team, IS SICK OF CHASING HER BOYS, when she IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE, perhaps even better equipped, to fulfil certain tasks?!" She spat, slamming her fist on the table.

The two of them looked away, realizing their decision to leave Sakura out of the mission hit her hard, deep within her childhood insecurities of failure and shortcoming. It wasn't merciful to leave her in the dark, masochistically trying to protect her, but rather cruel; seeming to scream of distrust and uninterest in all of the skills she worked so hard to cultivate. The hospital room air was tense, the two boys bitterly lost in thought.

"No more team hangouts without me." Sakura finally said, breaking the tension.

"It wasn't a hangout." Sasuke said, "It was a dangerous S-class mission."

"You're right, Sasuke. It was MORE FUN than a hangout. MAYBE you even talked more than you usually do just sitting at Ichiraku's, pining over my face and grunting monosyllables!" She challenged. "And how fucking bright of you to notice it was 'dangerous!' Tell me, was it your three broken ribs that gave you a clue?"

"Again, boys, who out of the three of us knows any shred of medical ninjutsu, and could heal wounds and save your asses?"

"You are, Sakura." They went back to dejectedly responding.

Sasuke blushed and looked away. In his mind, his actions had solely been to protect his precious person. Protect her from a build-up of hospital work in her absence, avoid putting her in dangerous spots, and maybe… to protect himself from being off his game during the mission, from becoming distracted by worrying about her 24/7. He knew she didn't need his protecting, hell, she had survived just fine in all of his absence. He just had a hard time trying to turn off his desire to be the one to protect her.

Sakura took a deep breath, reaching out and healing Naruto's black eye. "Look. Bottom line, I hate to see you guys come in here so banged up when I know my presence could've prevented this. Next time, I expect your respect and trust in me to come with you guys, okay? Don't forget- we're a team."

Naruto cracked a huge smile. "Of course, Sakura-chan! You're the best!" He exclaimed, giving her a huge hug and a sloppy kiss on the forehead. He looked over at Sasuke, his expression seeming to say, 'Your turn! Repeat!'

Sasuke rolled his eyes, before also reaching out to give Sakura a light, one armed hug. He pulled back, hesitated for a second, then lightly brushed his lips against her forehead.

Sakura's jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered her composure. She finally smiled, letting out a big goofy grin at both of her teammates. "I love you guys," she said, "now let's give you guys a haircut and get outta here to grab some food."

Both of the boys just trusted Sakura to do their hair during an occasional medical checkup, as a matter of convenience to prevent it from getting too long or "from spending unnecessary money."

The money excuse was just that, an excuse, as Sasuke was one individual with literally the money of a whole deceased clan, and both boys were insanely skilled ninja with high demand in the job market. They really just liked the feeling of Sakura's fingers in their hair.

She purposefully clipped Naruto's hair a bit short, a little sense of revenge to remind him hopefully of her, especially as he was perusing the mission board. No serious damage, though, as she knew he was probably just following Sasuke's whims by leaving her out.

Sasuke's hair then, on the other hand, was unspokenly agreed that she had more leeway with as her punishment to him.

The cut was simply shorter, but she styled it with lots of barrettes and scrunchies.

She secured the last barrette, clipping his bangs away from his eyes. "There!" she crooned, "Now maybe you can actually see reality! At least for tonight." She amended.

And all was right in their world, three comrades with no harm done, off to eat some damn good ramen,


End file.
